10. They have social intercourse among themselves; have a will power to
organize as a band or body to protect themselves against the attacks
of other organized bodies, to fight and to battle.
11. Animals instruct their young--guide them and protect them,
as well as feed them. They have their code of morals. They have all
such functions as serenading, love-making, music, jealousy, pleasure,
and anger. Animals have judgment; they can compare and reflect on
cold and heat, danger and tranquillity, comfort and discomfort. They
can reject or accept.
12. They have memory, perception, and understanding. Domestic and
wild animals exhibit these peculiarities. They will manifest their
likes and dislikes, hate and love, courage and cowardice.
The will power depends on the nervous system--the cerebral hemispheres,
the cerebrum or small brain, the thalamus opticus, corpus striata,
corpora quadrigemina, the peduncles, medulla oblongata, spinal cord,
etc. That is, all the organs that constitute the nervous machinery,
that control the muscular tissues in all their acts, and keep a
watchful outlook over all other organs of the body.
The will power, then, is the power to act in accordance and in harmony
with the things recognized, or the selection made by any of the five
senses, discriminating between that which is good for them and that
which is injurious, or good and evil.
Animals in selecting grass for food will avoid that which is injurious
to them. The olfactory and gustatory nerves guide them. They will seek
shelter, and evidently know what to do when a thunderstorm approaches,
etc., etc.
Will power is a property, quality, or function belonging to all
living creatures in common. The degree of will power depends upon the
quality, quantity, and perfection of the nervous organization. Man has
will power in a measure greater as the nervous system is developed,
educated, and perfected.
Morality--a quality that does not exclusively belong to man. What is
morality? It is nothing more than a restraint, or check, on our actions
and our feelings. It is the regulating of the actions of life towards
ourselves and towards others. It is the obedience to recognized and
established laws in a community, socially and politically. It means
not to trespass against the laws of nature, against ourselves, or
against our neighbors.
Animals restrain themselves and obey.
Morality differs according to the social customs and practices, and
the civil laws regulating the same, which were made and adopted for
mutual benefit and protection. These are either crude or refined,
depending on the condition of society.
To a limited degree animals have morality. Man has it in a higher and
more refined degree, according to the progress and culture attained.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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